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Monday, February 4, 2013

Goals, Music, Books & More Updates

It's officially February. Where did January go? Not that I'm complaining, because I'm not at all. February brings all kinds of excitement for me, so I'm happy it's here, but it does seem like 2013 is already flying by.

It's been a while since I've given you any real updates, so I thought it would be best to start of the month with just that. It's Update Time!

Update #1: Books Complete Me Unlimited (BCMU) has officially launched. What is Books Complete Me Unlimited, you ask? Simply put, BCMU is the brand new sister site of Books Complete Me (BCM) and will feature reviews and all things book related for books that are not YA.You should check it out because it's going to be AWESOME. Find it HERE.

Update #2: All The Write Notes (ATWN) has officially launched. What is All The Write Notes, you ask? You can read THIS to get all the details, but essentially ATWN is a blog of writers who love music. We talk music. We talk writing. We talk about the two of them together. Oh, and there will be giveaways, too. You should definitely check it out, because it's going to be AWESOME (trust me, just go with it).

Update #3: I'm writing again. After I won NaNoWriMo, a few things happened personally (all good things, don't worry) and I fell behind in my writing schedule. I only had a few chapters remaining in my current WIP to finish the first draft, but the manuscript pretty much sat all lonely in my computer for over a month. I missed it, and now, finally, I'm back to giving it the attention it deserves. This is in no small part due to one of my incredible critique partners. Amalie Howard, here's looking at you!

Update #4: Speaking of Amalie Howard, have you heard all of her good news?? She's been super busy selling books, including WATERFELL to Harlequin Teen. Here's the Publisher's Marketplace announcement:

“Amalie Howard’s WATERFELL, in which an alien shape-shifting
princess hides in plain sight among humans and trains to save her
species, living in the depths of the Earth’s oceans for millennia, from
the enemy who murdered her family and wants to rule in her place, to
Natashya Wilson at Harlequin Teen, in a two-book deal, for publication
in Winter 2014, by Liza Fleissig at Liza Royce Agency (World).”

As someone who has read WATERFELL, I cannot tell you enough how proud I am of Amalie. This book is amazing and so is she. *throws virtual confetti* Congrats Amalie!!

You can find out more about Amalie and her recent sales on her website HERE.

Update #5: The Tangled Up In Words blog is going to be super busy and FUN this month. Check out our month of #SmallPress411 to learn all about working for and with small presses. It's going to be a blast!

Update #6: I love my job! I just recently started a position as publicist for Spencer Hill Press's new imprint, Spencer Hill Contemporary and I'm enjoying every minute of it. I am loving getting to know my authors and understanding their visions for their books. I'm honored to work with them and am so happy to be in such a position. Things have been going really well, and I've been promoted to "Senior Publicist." Kind of cool, right?

Goals for February: I have two goals for this month. The first is the finish the first draft of this manuscript by February 15th. The second is to finish revisions for this same manuscript by the end of the month. I'm rolling my sleeves up, digging in and not coming back up for air until it's complete.

Exciting Things Happening In February: 2nd annual WRITING RETREAT! In 17 days I will be leaving for the writing retreat of awesome. I am so so so so so so excited I can hardly stand it. This year's retreat has grown by two. so it's sure to be even more fun. Stay tuned for updates from the group: Danielle Ellison, Amalie Howard, Kristi Cook, Kate Kaynak, Page Morgan, Ariane Mandell, and myself!